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Stanford Harmonics

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Stanford Harmonics
Stanford Harmonics, January 2022
Stanford Harmonics, January 2022
Background information
OriginStanford, California, USA
GenresA cappella
Years active1991–present
Websitewww.stanfordharmonics.com

The Stanford Harmonics are a co-ed a cappella group from Stanford University. Known for their alternative rock repertoire and award-winning recordings, the Harmonics have garnered international recognition for their performances and have been featured on BOCA, Sing, and Voices Only a cappella compilations. The Harmonics are one of the few collegiate a cappella groups that own their own wireless microphone equipment[citation needed] and have developed a live performance style that includes the use of electronic distortion and sound effects.

History

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The group's third release, Insanity Laughs (1999), was received as a "breakthrough album" for the unprecedented mixing of its drum-like vocal percussion.[1]

In 2009, their landmark studio album, Escape Velocity, won three Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, including Best Mixed Collegiate Album,[2] and was selected by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board as one of their Picks of the Decade.[3]

In 2010, the Harmonics won the A Cappella Community Awards for Favorite Mixed Collegiate Group and Favorite Scholastic Album.[4]

In 2020, the album "Signal Lost" by the Harmonics won Best Rock Album from the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards.

As of 2024, they are recording their newest album, a concept album centered around grief, to be released in 2025.

Recordings

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The Stanford Harmonics have released ten full-length albums, one "greatest hits" album, and one extended play, alongside numerous singles.

  • The Greatest Hits of Pitchpipe (1995)
  • Escalator Music (1997)
  • Insanity Laughs (1999)
  • Phonoshop (2001)
  • evolut10n (2002) - 10 Year Anniversary "Greatest Hits" Album
  • Rock Beats Scissors (2003)
  • Shadowplay (2005)
  • Escape Velocity (2008)
  • Midnight Hour (2013)
  • The Messes of Men (2015) - EP
  • Fault of Imagination (2017)
  • Signal Lost (2019)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
1998 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Escalator Music Nominated [5]
2000 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Insanity Laughs Nominated [6]
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Jonathan Pilat Nominated
2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Phonoshop Nominated [7]
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Jonathan Pilat for "We Are In Love"
Runner-up
[8]
2004 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Lady Marmalade" from Rock Beats Scissors
Runner-up
[9]
2006 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Shadowplay Nominated [10]
Best Mixed Collegiate Solo Bryan Tan for "The Memory Remains" Nominated
2009 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Escape Velocity Won [2]
Best Mixed Collegiate Song "The Sound of Silence" Won
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement[a] Charlie Forkish for "The Sound of Silence" Won
Charlie Forkish for "Imagination"
Runner-up
2010 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Spiel Met Mir" from Sing Six: Sunny Side Up Nominated [11]
2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Collegiate Album Midnight Hour Nominated [12]
Best Mixed Collegiate Song "Somebody to Love" Nominated
Best Mixed Collegiate Arrangement Evan Smith for "Somebody to Love" Nominated
2018 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Electronic / Experimental Album Fault of Imagination Nominated [13]
2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Rock Album Signal Lost Won [14]
Best Rock Song "Zombie" from Signal Lost Nominated [15]
Best Mixed Collegiate Album Signal Lost Nominated
2022 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Mixed Voices Collegiate Solo Mitchell Zimmerman for "Ever After" (Single) Nominated [16]
2022 Best of College A Cappella Featured Single ‘Bad Liar’ Single Won [17]
  1. ^ Charlie Forkish was named both the winner and the runner-up (against himself) for these two arrangements on Escape Velocity.

ICCA results

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The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) first judged live a cappella performance competitions in 1996.

Year Level Category Recipient(s) Result Points Citation
1996 West Region Semifinal Best Solo Zareen Poonen for "Change in My Life'
Runner-up
N/A
2000 West Region Quarterfinal #1 Best Group Harmonics
2nd
2002 West Region Quarterfinal #2 Best Soloist Morgan Reed
Runner-up (tie)
N/A
Best Arrangement Jon Pilat for "Lady Marmalade"
Runner-up (tie)
N/A
2003 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Harmonics
3rd
Best Arrangement Marcella White Campbell for "Porcelain"
Won
N/A
2004 West Region Quarterfinal #1 Outstanding Vocal Percussion Ben D'Angelo and Daniel Hobert
won
N/A
2021 West Region Quarterfinal #3 Best Group Harmonics
3rd
312

Notable members

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  • Singer/songwriter Vienna Teng
  • Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA) President Julia Hoffman and Board Member Ariel Glassman
  • Hookslide singers Jon Pilat and George Hoffman
  • Former Skritch lead Bryan Tan
  • Icon Parthiv Krishna
  • Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office
  • Jade Nguyen

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mickey Rapkin (2012). Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Penguin. ISBN 9781592408214. Retrieved 2018-01-04. The breakthrough album, he says, was the 1999 Stanford Harmonics disc, Insanity Laughs. 'That's when vocal percussion really started to sound more like a drum set than vocals,' Bill says.
  2. ^ a b "2009 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  3. ^ "RARB". RARB Picks of the Decade. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  4. ^ "CASA". 2010 A Cappella Community Award Winners. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  5. ^ "1998 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  6. ^ "2000 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  7. ^ "2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  8. ^ "2002 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  9. ^ "2004 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  10. ^ "2006 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  11. ^ "2010 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  12. ^ "2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. ^ "2018 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  14. ^ Chen, Jessica (5 April 2020). "2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Results". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  15. ^ Chen, Jessica (17 February 2020). "2020 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  16. ^ "2022 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". The Contemporary A Cappella Society. March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  17. ^ "2022 Best of College A Cappella 2022 Collection". Best of College A Cappella. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (1996)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 1996. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2000)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2000. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2002)". Brigham Young University: Varsity Vocals. 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2003)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2004)". University of California, Berkeley: Varsity Vocals. 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Results: Official Results for the ICCA, ICHSA, and The Open (2021)". Varsity Vocals. 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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